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By: FEDweek StaffOPM has said it will soon administer its Federal Employee Benefits Survey to some 100,000 federal employees who will be notified by email and will have up to six weeks to respond.
“The purpose of the FEBS is to measure the importance, adequacy and value of employee benefits to assess if employees believe the available benefits meet their needs. The FEBS will also help us to evaluate whether federal employees understand the flexibilities and benefits available to them,” OPM said in a memo to agencies on chcoc.gov.
Unlike the annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, the benefits survey is conducted only every two years and asks fewer questions.
In the 2021 survey, for example, the TSP was rated as important or extremely important by 96 percent, retirement annuities (FERS or CSRS) by 95 percent, FEHB coverage in retirement by 93 percent and FEHB in general by 90 percent. The FEHB was viewed as meeting needs to a great or moderate extent by 95 percent and the TSP by 93 percent; while the TSP was rated a good or excellent value by 87 percent and FEHB by 73 percent. Those numbers were largely unchanged from 2019.
In addition to those questions, the upcoming survey will ask about views of Biden administration priorities “including access to behavioral and mental health care, treatment of long-term impacts of COVID-19 infections, fertility benefits, gender-affirming care, and obesity treatment,” OPM said.
The benefits survey traditionally has produced only government-wide results but the upcoming one will provide some agency-by-agency breakdowns, OPM added.
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See also,
TSP Takes Step toward Upcoming In-Plan Roth Conversions
5 Steps to Protect Your Federal Job During the Shutdown
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